Netflix Confirms 'One Piece' Season 3 Renewal and Production Start Amid Season 2 Anticipation

This weekend, Japan is celebrating One Piece day. The event is unveiling all kinds of news about the future of the franchise, so Netflix took the opportunity to make a huge announcement to fans all over the world (even though Season 2 star Joe Manganiello all but confirmed this a few months ago). The streamer officially confirmed that the hit series is returning for Season 3. Production of the new season is set to start in Cape Town later this year. Season 2 of the series is slated to premiere in 2026.

The announcement may suggest that Netflix wants to fast-track the production in such a way that fans don’t have to wait too long for new episodes. Season 2 will premiere almost 3 years after the debut of season 1. This doesn’t mean, however, that season 3 will come as fast as fans would like— due to its numerous special and practical effects, the show takes a long time to finalize during post-production. Along with the Season 3 announcement, Netflix also provided some first-look images from the upcoming Season 2 that tease the arrival of new characters. You can check them out below.

Who Is Returning for ‘One Piece’s New Episodes?

Even though Netflix hasn’t officially confirmed it, chances are that franchise creator Eiichiro Oda will continue to sign off on every decision made by the series’ showrunners. In that department, significant changes have been announced. For Season 3, Ian Stokes (Luke Cage) is joining production as showrunner, a task that the writer will share with Season 2 co-showrunner Joe Tracz. After season 1, series creator Steven Maeda decided to leave the series. He was soon followed by Matt Owens, who exited by the end of season 2 to focus on his mental health.

It’s safe to say that the Straw Hats — Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), Nami (Emily Rudd), Zoro (Mackenyu), Usopp (Jacob Romero), Sanji (Taz Skylar), and Tony Tony Chopper (Mikaela Hoover) — are all returning for Season 3. Season 2 newcomer Joe Manganiello has already teased that his character Mr 0 will also be back for the third season, possibly hinting at the manga’s second saga is being adapted into two seasons. However, season 2 is introducing such a huge slate of characters that a few of them may return for more episodes. Depending on the arcs that get adapted, it wouldn’t be a surprise if most of them came back.

The cast of season 2 of One Piece will also welcome Dragon (Rigo Sanchez), Miss Wednesday (Charithra Chandran), Brogy (Brendan Murray), Dr. Kureha (Katey Sagal), Nefertari Cobra (Sendhil Ramamurthy), Smoker (Callum Kerr), Ipponmatsu (James Hiroyuki Liao), Miss All Sunday (Lera Abova), Dr. Hiriluk (Mark Harelik), Miss Goldenweek (Sophia Anne Caruso), Igaram (Yonda Thomas), Mr. 3 (David Dastmalchian), Mr. 5 (Camrus Johnson), Crocus (Clive Russell), Mr. 9 (Daniel Lasker), Miss Valentine (Jazzara Jaslyn), Tashigi (Julia Rehwald), Wapol (Rob Colletti), Dalton (Ty Keogh), Dorry (Werner Coetser), Chess (Mark Penwill), and K.M. (Anton Jeftha).